Friday, September 25, 2015

Recipe Revisit: Lime Bars

The
greatest hazard involved in always wanting to try new recipes is that it’s hard
to get back to the really good ones again. Take these fabulous, pucker-tart
lime bars for instance. I made them so long ago, and then never made them
again. Ever. It’s so embarrassing.

I
wanted to re-test this recipe for more than one reason. First of all, I wanted
to eat them again. They’re delicious, much like an extra-moist, really good
classic lemon bar, but with a key-lime-pie-like graham cracker crust. My
husband, who loves sour flavors and limes in particular, is especially excited
about them. They’re so good and so easy to make, I should have made them a hundred
times by now!

Another
reason I desired a re-test is that I wanted to tweak the recipe just a little.
The original recipe that I published was in a 9-inch square pan and had a
rather large crust-to-filling ratio. I wanted to balance that out a little
better, so I made the recipe in a smaller baking dish (8-inches square) and
reduced the amount of crust. The result was just right.

I’m
sure these could be made with other citrus juices, or perhaps even tart juices
from other kinds of fruits. I think we’ll be enjoying it with limes in my house
for the foreseeable future, however, and it’s going to be this updated version
of the recipe from now on as well.

Lime Bars with
Graham Cracker CrustThe filling for these bars is quite moist, so they’re best eaten with a
fork, and the crust doesn’t stay crisp for long. (I don’t mind.)

2. Place the graham crackers in a food processor and process to coarse crumbs.
Add the 1 tablespoon sugar and melted butter. Process until well mixed.

3. Pour the graham cracker crumb mixture into the prepared baking pan. Press
into the pan evenly and firmly. Bake at 375 F for about 15 minutes or until
golden brown on the edges. Remove from the oven.

4. While the crust is baking, combine the eggs and sugar in a medium-size bowl.
Whisk together until smooth. Whisk in the lime juice and vanilla extract.

5. Pour the egg mixture over the baked and still warm crust. Return to the oven
and bake at 375 F about 18-20 minutes, or until the filling is set and only
jiggles slightly when shaken. Cool completely or chill if desired. Cut into
squares to serve. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.